Mississippi congressmen on key committees

WASHINGTON — Gulf Coast lawmakers are serving on key committees this Congress that could have a major impact on regional issues, including energy, infrastructure and sex trafficking.

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi, again chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Louisiana, serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Martha Roby, R-Alabama, takes a new seat on the House Judiciary Committee.

With Republican President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress, Gulf Coast lawmakers believe they have a better chance to push through their agenda.

For the first few months, the Republican-led committees are likely to follow Trump’s lead before pushing their own agendas, said Rickey Hill, chairman of the political science department at Jackson State University.

Lawmakers from across the region have been assigned recently to a range of key committees. The assignments are particularly critical this session as Congress pushes an agenda that includes immigration reform, a repeal of the federal health care law and a rollback of some energy policies. Most of the region’s lawmakers are Republicans. Gulf Coast lawmakers praised Trump's executive order last week to speed approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.

Republicans, led by Cochran, are also likely to try to steer more funding to their states, Hill said.

Cochran had a long history of steering federal money for special projects, or earmarks, before the practice was banned in 2010.

“They’re probably going to find a way to do the same thing — they’re going to call it something different," Hill said.

He said Cochran, who is also on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, will probably continue his push to help farmers, mostly with subsidies.

Some lawmakers will serve in new posts. Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Mississippi, is chairman of the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal elections among other issues.

Outside of committee assignments, several lawmakers have new leadership roles. Cedric Richmond, the lone Democrat in the Louisiana delegation, is the new chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who recently led the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has been named a part of the GOP leadership team.

“I’m glad to be part of a group that I think will really implement a lot of policy changes," Wicker said.

Hill said Wicker’s new post will be good for Republicans, but not likely to mean policy changes that help some constituents, particularly black people and poor people.

“It’s going to be a big deal for the (GOP) powers that be," said Hill. “It’s not going to matter for everyday people. It’s not going to matter for poor people in the state. It’s going to be business as usual."

Gulf Coast lawmakers, including Abraham and Wicker, are also on Armed Services committees, which could help in a region that is home to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, Keesler Air Force Base Mississippi and Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.

It could also help the region that Graves will serve on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as Trump pushes to spend more on infrastructure, said Hill.

“Obviously, if Mr. Trump’s $1 trillion (spending plan) on infrastructure would go through that would be a really big one,’’ he said. “We definitely need transportation help down here.’’

Graves said he has met with the Trump transition team to talk about coastal restoration efforts and the need for more infrastructure projects. “Restoring our wetlands is an infrastructure investment," he said.